Free Printable Summer Chore Chart Bundle for Kids

Looking for a way to get your kids to do their chores this summer? Check out our free printable summer chore chart bundle! This pack includes a variety of charts that will help your kids stay on track and complete all their tasks. We’ve also included tips to prevent summer chores from being a struggle between parents and kids.

The Importance of a Summer Routine

The school year has come to an end and the kids are ready to spend summer vacation sleeping in until noon, eating all the snacks, and playing video games all day.

As an elementary school teacher, I know that it’s important for kids to be able to relax and have fun with their friends. That’s the stuff that summer memories are made of.

However, I also know that bored kids complain a lot and it’s important to maintain some sort of routine during the summer months.

While tight schedules might not be possible (or desirable), creating a weekly routine will help your kids stay healthy and productive while they are home from school.

In fact, research shows that a daily schedule helps to prevent depression and promotes a healthy sleep cycle which is super important for a child’s developing body and brain.

So while your kids may try to guilt you into letting them do whatever they want all summer, it’s important to create (and stick to) a routine that includes some structure, which includes chores.

And the good news is that this doesn’t have to be complicated.

Even a simple checklist of daily tasks can be an effective way to keep your kids productive and prevent boredom throughout the summer months.

To help you get started, I’ve created a free printable summer chore chart bundle that you can download at the bottom of this post.

If you’re ready to grab it, just scroll down 🙂

This pack includes a variety of charts that will help your kids stay on track and complete all their tasks. We’ve also included a list of age-appropriate chores plus tips to prevent summer chores from being a daily power struggle.

Why Chores are Important for Kids

While your kids may not want to believe it, chores are a great way to gain important life skills like:

• responsibility
• time management
• self-worth
• strong work ethic
• and a sense of accomplishment

In addition, a daily chore checklist can provide a sense of structure and routine during the summer months.

So if you’re looking for a way to get your kids to help out around the house and raise productive members of society, summer chore charts can help.

How to Use Our Free Printable Summer Chore Charts

Here’s the deal- no two families are alike.

Depending on how many kids you have, their ages, and your family dynamic you’re gonna want your summer chore charts to work differently.

And that’s exactly why I created this bundle of free printable chore charts.

I wanted to create a resource where you could find the exact summer chore chart format that would work best for your family.

After you download the bundle, you can print them all or just choose to print the version(s) that you plan to use.

There are 9 different versions of the printable chore charts available for you to choose from including:

• Summer Chore Chart: Get Ready, Clean Up, Be Productive (prefilled and blank)
• Summer Daily Chore Chart: Morning, Afternoon, Evening
• Daily Checklist (prefilled and blank)
• Summer Rules/Daily Privilege Checklist (use for wi-fi access, screen time, etc)
• Summer Chore Chart Bingo (prefilled and blank)

In order to avoid printing multiple copies and using a ton of paper and ink, I suggest laminating the chore chart.

Then you can just use a dry erase marker to write on the chore chart and wipe it off at the end of each week.

I love this laminator for home use, and use it all the time.

You could also slip the summer chore charts into a plastic sleeve and that will make it dry-eraseable too! #teacherhack

If you’re not sure how to get started, or what kind of chores your kids should be doing, we’ve got you covered there too.

Inside the free printable summer chore chart bundle, you’ll also find a list of summer chore ideas that are age-appropriate to use for daily and weekly chore lists.

You can use this list to decide which tasks and daily responsibilities you want to assign to your kids.

And lastly, there’s a blank version of each chart so you can customize it however you’d like!

How to Make Summer Chores Fun

The last thing you want to do is have your kids blame you for having a total bummer summer.

However, there’s a good chance that will happen if you’re constantly nagging at them to do their chores.

Instead of engaging in a power struggle, do what you can to get your kids to willingly cooperate in the process.

The secret is to make household chores as fun as possible so that time flies by while they’re completing their tasks.

Here are a few tips to make summer chores fun:

–Turn on some great music during chore time.

-Set a timer and announce that chore time will end with the timer goes off. (Children are generally much more cooperative when the end is in sight).

–Make it a race to see who can get their chores done fastest and assign a reward like getting to choose a family movie to watch.

–Create a chore jar: fill a jar with slips of paper that have different chores written on them. Have your kids pick one out each day to complete.

–Chore scavenger hunt: create a list of specific tasks that need to be completed and have your kids search for items around the house that need to be put away/cleaned.

–Make a game out of it: create teams and see who can complete their tasks the fastest. The losing team has to do something fun for the winning team like make them breakfast in bed or make them a snack.

Helpful Summer Chore Chart FAQ’s

How do I get my kids to actually do their chores?

To be completely honest with you, it’s highly unlikely that you will be able to simply post a copy of the daily chores in your family command center and expect your kids to complete them without a protest.

I recommend sitting down with your kids at the beginning of summer break to explain how the chore chart system will work.

Let them know what is expected of them and what the rewards and consequences will be if they don’t complete their chores.

It’s also important to set a deadline for the chores to be completed each day.

Be sure to connect the chores to privileges like screen time, access to social media, or doing activities with friends.

Otherwise, you will spend all day reminding them to do their chores and they will spend all day procrastinating.

What age are these chore charts for?

These chore charts are appropriate for kids of all ages from toddler to teen. If you need some ideas for tasks, there’s a list of age-appropriate daily and weekly chores included in the bundle.

Should I reward my kids for doing chores?

When beginning to use a chore chart for the first time, I would recommend utilizing the power of a reward.

For young kids, this could be as simple as:

• a sticker for each completed task
• choosing a fun game to play
• or some extra one on one time

For older children, you can transition to a chore chart system that is privilege-based.

This means that completing chores allows them to earn screen time, access to social media, or money.

Should I pay an allowance?

This is a difficult question to answer because there’s no one size fits all solution.

Ultimately, you will need to decide what works best for your family.

Some parents choose to pay an allowance for chores because it teaches kids responsibility and the value of work.

Other parents feel that their kids should do chores simply because they are part of the family. They don’t feel the need to pay them for doing things that are expected of them.

If you do choose to pay your kids an allowance, I recommend basing it on tasks that they do above and beyond what is expected. You could also connect allowance to specific chores that are more challenging or less desirable.

For example, if your child finishes their daily checklist, then does extra chores, helps a sibling, or completes a task that wasn’t required then I believe a little pay is a great reward for hard work and a job well done.

Conclusion

Summer is a great time for kids to relax and have fun with their friends without the hectic schedule of the school year.

At the same time, daily routines and schedules create the structure and predictability that kids need.

A weekly chore chart or daily checklist can help you establish a routine for your kids.

It can also enforce your family’s values of responsibility and productivity while your kids learn essential life skills.

I hope you enjoy these free printable summer chore charts and that they help your family have a productive and fun summer!